


live in darkness

by dykerights41



Category: The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
Genre: but it’s not that detailed, gregor reconnecting with his friends, learning echolocation, references to gregor’s trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:35:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25974520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dykerights41/pseuds/dykerights41
Summary: in which gregor opened up to larry and angelina about the underland, and the first thing they asked about was echolocation
Relationships: Angelina & Gregor Campbell & Larry
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12
Collections: TUC Week 2020





	live in darkness

**Author's Note:**

> tuc fandom week 2020!!! day 1: darkness  
> sorry this is really short and rushed i just wanted to contribute :)

“Come on, guys,” Gregor huffed, getting more and more impatient by the minuet. “Try to focus on me.”

He was met moaning and groaning from the two other 14 year olds in the stairwell with him. Larry and Angelina had been at this for an hour and a half, and in the initial excitement had ignored Gregor’s insisting that it had taken him months to master.

Even so, they were obsessed with the idea of echolocation.

When Gregor tried to return to school, his two best friends immediately knew something was wrong and tried to reach out. And for as much as he tried to distance, if his friends were anything it was persistent, even after two years of running away. However, when he finished his story they were speechless. Larry and Angelina knew they couldn’t help him with the trauma, the scars, the nightmares. So, in a spur of the moment decision to try and lighten the mood, the latter of the two blurted out “How did you learn echolocation?”

And he here was, 2 weeks later. Sitting in a stairwell while his friends clicked away in vain.

“Okay, wait.” Angelina said suddenly. “This clearly isn’t working for either of us. Maybe there’s another method we could try, or maybe—“  
“Angie, don’t push him.” Larry muttered. He was clearly just playing along with her plan and trying to be a good sport about it so he wouldn’t get spooked. Am I really that flaky these days? Gregor thought.

He smiled and shook his head. “Trust me, Angie. It’ll take a while to sink in. It took me months to learn, and even then it only clicked when I was trapped in the dark for a few days.”  
He went over to ruffle her hair, and she opened her eyes smiling. He realized how little he must be showing his friends any physical affection these days. “Once you get it though, you’ll never be in darkness again.”

Gregor thought back to how useful Ripred’s impatient yelling has been, and took a deep breath. Start from the beginning.

“Remember, you’re trying to pinpoint me by the clicks. This hallway has a lot of reverb. You would hear it different if I was in front of you, right?” Gregor explained. “If you get really good, you can use the sound of your breathing, too.”

Larry perked up at that, opening his eyes to stare at the other boy in awe. “Seriously?”

Gregor nodded.

“That’s amazing!” Angelina exclaimed. “Have you ever had to use your breathing instead?”

Gregor crossed his arms. “Yeah, sometimes in a tight situation there’s no time for clicking. When I fought—“

He stopped himself. What was he doing, talking about his fight with the Bane? He tried so hard to not even think about it most days, and had glossed over it quickly when telling his friends.  
Gregor could tell it caused a shift in the energy, too. His two friends fell into an uncomfortable silence, starting at the floor.

Larry finally cleared his throat. “So, was...was Ripred a good teacher?”

Gregor was surprised he could remember the name. He knew they were both trying hard to view the Underland neutrally. Even if it was the same place that stole their friend.

He gave a little laugh. “Not even. Our lessons basically always turned into a roast session.” Gregor opened his mouth to speak again when he heard the unmistakable sound of flip flops smacking down a staircase. A small voice called out “Gregor? Are you there?”

Angelina ran to the railing and looked up. “Is that Lizzie I hear? God, I haven’t seen her in forever.”

Gregor shifted his weight and rubbed his ear. “Yeah...she’s probably just checking on me. We’re having dinner soon, I think.”

Larry and Angelina stared at him expectantly.

“Do you guys want to come over?”

——  
As Larry and Gregor raced up the stairs, Angelina reached the window and looked over at the sun setting over the city. She’d get echolocation eventually, she was sure of it. For now though, spending time with Larry and Gregor again was enough. She could live with the darkness for now.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry that this is barely proofread oops...i just love thinking about gregor reconnecting with his friends after the series


End file.
